Letter

To the Editor:

If the first casualty of war is truth, the first casualty of politics is the child. This has never been truer than in these unsettled times. Children are under siege from a number of sides. First and foremost, children are experiencing the downdraft of a crisis of confidence we adults are having in the leaders and institutions of America. It does little for our president to perseverate about the “War on Terror” when, at home, children see their peers wading through the brackish swamps that once were New Orleans. And at some point the horror of Iraq penetrates even the most adamantly fortified homes. Add to that the constant inflection of violence from our TV screens and we have a recipe for the creation of a compromised future populace.

For some children, health care is a given. For many others, it is in jeopardy. The Federal Government is in a fiscal tailspin and the safety net of Medicaid is an easy target. All cynical politicians (a tautology) know that kids don’t vote.

Of all the servers of children, education must be the most maligned. But education is dependent on the tax structure and this, too, is easy pickins when the times get rough.

All one asks is that we at least think about the effect of our decisions on children. As a voter, sound out the politicians. Hold their feet to the fire if they don’t produce. Children are our future.